EMEA News
Suppliers Seek Court Ruling on Russian Bunkering Ban
The Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers (Rosmorrechbunker) is calling on the Moscow City Arbitration Court to remove a bunkering ban, Russian market specialists IAA Port News reports.
The organisation argues that the ban violates international conventions on marine traffic and customs rules and that it hurts the development of domestic seaports and reduces their ability to compete with nearby foreign ports.
The rules, which took effect in September, restrict offshore bunkering of tankers to specific offshore single point mooring sites, and have resulted in dozens of tankers being unable to get bunker at Russian ports.
Rosmorrechbunker said the customs authorities' decision to ban the bunkering practices would not "contribute to the development of Russia's foreign trade and foreign economic relations of the subjects of the Russian Federation, to the acceleration of trade," as a federal law regarding customs rules demand.
The association has previously called on the nation's prosecutor general to investigate the custom rules.
